1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the production of a turf yarn for artificial turf, and to an apparatus for carrying out the method.
2. Description of Related Art
So-called turf yarns are used in the production of artificial turf, and have a composite of multiple monofilaments or multiple ribbons. As such, the turf yarn is processed into an artificial turf by means of a tufting process. The artificial grass blades are formed by the monofilaments and/or the ribbons inside the artificial turf. Producers strive to make the artificial fibers imitate the characteristics of natural grass blades as much as possible. As such, the prior art includes means of influencing the cross-section, coloring, and the structure of the monofilaments or ribbons according to the characteristics of natural grass blades. In order to improve the characteristics of artificial turf, particularly with respect to elasticity and the ability of the individual fibers to return to an upright position, it has been found that this is particularly possible by implementing grass yarns which are produced by creating a composite of multiple monofilaments made of different polymer materials.
As such, a grass yarn is known from EP 0 996 781 B 1, formed from monofilaments or ribbons made of different polymer materials, and produced in two extrusion processes which are operated in parallel. In the known method, however, only the differing characteristics of the polymer materials are used to obtain certain improvements in the artificial turf In this case, particularly the visual characteristics and resistance to abrasion are influenced.